There several cigarette containers with built-in ash-trays disclosed in prior art. Most of the prior art discloses cigarette containers having pivoting flaps or pivoting members that open and serve as temporary receptacles to hold cigarette debris. For examples of prior art cigarette containers with pivoting ashtray members see; Dement in U.S. Pat. No 2,349,488; Card in U.S. Pat. No. 2,396,827; Peel et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,555; Adams in U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,417; Posavic in U.S. Pat. No. 3,018,877; Sandacz in U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,482; and Kim in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,059. The devices disclosed do not serve as permanent receptacles for smoking debris because to close the pivoting ashtray members, the ash-tray must be empty or nearly empty. Thus with each use, the ashtray must emptied prior to storing the container in a pocket or a purse.
Draucker et al. in U.S. Pat No. 5,480,025 discloses a cigarette package to hold short cigarettes using a packages of similar size used to hold conventionally sized cigarettes. The package has a receptacle at the bottom of the package to support the short cigarettes and the receptacle is further supplied with a access aperture that can be used for discarding cigarette ashes and filters. The cigarette package disclosed, however, does not address the potential fire hazards associated with burning cigarette filter or ashes. Further the packages design only provides for a very small access aperture that can easily be used for inserting cigarette filters into the receptacle, but is extremely inconvenient to use as an ash tray during a smoking session.
The German Pat. No. 4210959 discloses a cigarette package with a drawer-like receptacle at the bottom of the cigarette package that can be pulled out and used as an ashtray. After the ashtray is used the drawer be retracted back into the package and stored The ashtray does not require emptying after each use but is not a convenient to use as an ashtray because the receptacle and is very small.
Arthur in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,781 describes a multi-component cigarette package that contains an ashtray. The package has an outer sleeve and an inner compartment for holding cigarettes, whereby the inner compartment sides into the outer sleeve. The adjustable cavity formed between the bottom of the inner compartment and bottom of the outer sleeve is used as the ashtray. A receptacle hole in a side of the outer sleeve is used to access the cavity when the inner compartment is pulled sufficiently far outward from the outer sleeve. After disposing the smoking debris in the ashtray, the hole is closed by sliding the inner compartment inward into the outer sleeve. This designs provide mechanisms for suffocating burning smoking debris, assuming that the inner section fits in the outer section sufficiently snug to suffocate any smoldering debris and that the inner compartment of the package is inserted far enough into the outer sleeve to completely cover the receptacle hole. However, if the receptacle hole is made large enough to be useful as an ashtray, a small outward displacement of the inter compartment will cause a portion of the receptacle hole to be open and smoking debris will spill out or smoldering debris will re-ignite. This situation is a highly likely since in there is no mechanism to secure the outer section and the inner section in a closed position. Further, since the inside wall of the outer sleeve serves as the bottom of the ashtray it will become highly soiled with ash. After using the ashtray, the inner section is pushed back inward to close the receptacle hole and the outside wall of the inner compartment that overlaps the outer sleeve it will also become soiled with ash. Thus, in a subsequent uses of the ashtray the soiled inner compartment will be pulled out and the hands of the user and the surface where the package is rested will also become soiled. Further, the cigarette container and outer sleeve may become completely separated allowing the smoking debris to escape for the top portion of the outer sleeve.
What is needed is cigarette packaging system that provides an ashtray unit that is functional, safe and clean to use. The ashtray unit needs to be accessible through a large receptacle hole for ashing cigarettes and have a receptacle container for storing smoking debris from several smoking sessions, whereby smoking debris will not cause the packaging system to burn and spillage of smoking debris is unlikely.